Disappear
by DFM
Summary: When Scully gets a little too close on a case drastic actions have to be taken.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Disappear

**Rating: **PG-13

**Category: **STRA

**Keywords: **MSR, AU

**Timeline/Spoilers:** Set during Season 7, General Series Spoilers

**Summary:** When Scully gets a little too close on a case drastic actions have to be taken.

**Disclaimer:** Anything related to The X-Files belongs to CC, 1013, FOX.

**Author's Note:** I started this story back in 2005 but never got farther than a page into it. When xf_bigbang was announced I was trying to think of a story I could do and this one raised its dusty little head up and cried, 'Oh, pick me! Pick me!' Who am I to argue with a fic that wants to be written?

Thank you so much to Aimee, who dragged me to the finish line on this one, and Namarie, who was amazingly patient with my love of commas.

**Chapter 1**

Dana Scully was tired of trying to make the destruction of cell phones by alien goo sound scientific. The words _'unidentified substance' _didn't even look real after a 9 hour day of paperwork.

At least the office was quiet now. Her partner was never so restless as on days filled with bureaucracy.

_"Hey, Scully, you want some seeds?"_

_"I'm going to have nightmares about paper-pushers coming after us, yelling about how we filed something in duplicate instead of triplicate, Scully."_

_"Scully, there's a report here of a woman having Bigfoot's baby. Think we should go check it out?"_

She hadn't attempted to hide her relief when Mulder said he was heading home. After he left, work that had been taking all day was close to being done after an hour and a half.

She was signing her name to the last form when her phone rang. She flipped it open, not bothering to check who it was. Leaning back in her chair, she sighed into the phone, "Scully."

"Hey Scully, it's me."

"Did you get Bigfoot to take a paternity test?"

"You know, I was calling to tell you I was willing to feed you, but if you're going to take that tone..."

"You're already heading over to my apartment, aren't you, Mulder?"

"For your information, I'm actually heading towards food, Agent."

"Thai food?"

"Scully..." Sometimes Mulder was able to get to her by using his whiny, little boy voice; today was not one of those times.

"No, Mulder."

"Fine, but I'm not getting anything with garlic in it."

"I can't think of a situation where that would be an issue, but okay."

"Funny, I can think of several."

"I meant a probable situation."

"Well, you know me, Scully, I'm always hoping for the improbable."

She smiled, since he couldn't see her. "I'll see you in a little bit."

Walking around the office, Scully made sure the computers were turned off, that all the paperwork was set neatly in Mulder's outbox, ready to be sent through interoffice mail, and that she had everything she needed for the night in her briefcase. She was just locking the door to the basement office, when her phone rang again.

"Scully."

"Agent Scully," AD Skinner's voice boomed through her cell. "Have you left the office yet?"

"No, sir, I was just on my way out."

"I need you for a meeting in my office before you leave for the night."

She almost didn't contain her sigh. "Yes, sir. I'll be right there."

***

Scully was always surprised by how quickly the Hoover Building emptied out at the end of the day. The FBI never really closed, but the usual hustle and bustle of the day was over and the building was almost peaceful. When she reached Skinner's office, she saw that Kim had already gone home. This was a little unusual; she usually stayed until the AD left for the day.

She knocked on Skinner's door, and didn't have to wait long for a response.

"Come in."

As Scully walked in, the first thing she noticed was that there were two other people in the office aside from Skinner. One was a tall blonde woman, and the other was an equally tall, though somewhat ganglier, brunette man.

The AD seemed to sense her hesitation. "Agent, these are Marshals Shannon," he indicated the woman, and then gestured toward her male counterpart, "and Mann. They're here to talk to you."

"How's it going?" Marshal Shannon offered, in a blasé tone.

Scully ignored them except for a nod in their direction. "Sir, if I may ask, what is this about?"

"Scully, have a seat," he said in his 'this is going to be bad' tone.

She didn't particularly want to sit down, but took a seat in front of the AD's desk all the same.

"Agent Scully, you recently did an autopsy for the Organized Crime Division."

"Yes, sir. About a month ago. It was my understanding that they were able to break that case."

"That's correct. They were able to press charges against the top guys in the Spilano family."

"Unfortunately, the rest of them aren't taking it that well," Mann spoke up for the first time.

"Did anyone think they would?" Scully asked, with a tinge of sarcasm in her voice.

"No," Shannon commented, "and usually, in situations such as this, key witnesses have to go into hiding before the trial."

Scully was afraid she knew the answer to her next question but asked anyway. "And what does that have to do with me?"

"Scully, it was your autopsy findings that broke the case, and it will be your testimony that will bring down their boss. They know that." He paused. "The Marshals are with Witness Protection."

"No wonder Organized Crime needs to call in favors to get their autopsies done," Scully mumbled under her breath.

Skinner continued on as if he hadn't heard her. "We hope that this relocation will only be temporary but we can't promise any sort of a timeline. You are to inform _no one_ that you are leaving."

"Sir... people will notice if I suddenly disappear." 'Mulder will notice,' she added silently, knowing Skinner would understand.

"Agent Scully, let me be perfectly clear: you will let us deal with these people. You will go about your business as usual tonight, no break from routine. You are to assume that someone is listening at all times. Tomorrow you will be transported to your new location, once it appears to the outside world that you are at work. Do not leave clues, do not leave a note. I cannot stress enough the importance of this." He paused and for the first time in the meeting she saw a break in the AD façade. "Scully- we're trying to keep you alive."

"I do appreciate that fact, sir." She smiled sadly. "I just wish there was another way."

"I understand." He sighed. "You're going to meet with the Marshals for a few minutes, so they can go over procedures and your cover."

Shannon and Mann took that as their cue to stand, and Scully rose to follow them.

"Scully."

"Yes, sir?

"Be careful."

She nodded, and almost turned to leave, but changed her mind. "Sir, Agent Mulder..."

"I'll make sure he doesn't require too many hospital stays during your absence."

"Thank you."

***

Scully drove home in complete silence. The radio had been on briefly but she'd turned it off. Her thoughts were loud enough – she didn't need anything added. She just kept rehashing the meeting.

She was giving up her life because murderers wanted to continue murdering. How was it right that scum got to dictate how she lived? Not that this should have been a new concept to her. At least the FBI had a shot at capturing these guys, unlike the people she and Mulder usually chased after.

This depressing line of thought continued on as she parked and trudged up the stairs to her apartment. Outside the door she stopped short to notice the wonderful food smells emanating from inside. 'Shit, Thai food,' she remembered, quickly unlocking the door.

"Hey Scully," Mulder called from his location on the couch. He had a mouth full of food and was flipping through TV channels like he didn't have a care in the world. "I started without you. What took you so long?"

Scully hung up her jacket before sitting down on the couch, busying herself by putting food on her plate, even though she wasn't hungry. "Skinner needed to talk to me."

"Do we have a case?"

"No, nothing like that. He just had a question for me."

"You cheating on me with Skinner, Scully?" Mulder teased.

"I usually wait until I'm at least a month into a relationship with a man before I start cheating on him, Mulder," she joked back, but it fell flat. She shouldn't have tried for humor; he was immediately suspicious. He turned the TV off and set his food down on the coffee table.

"What's going on?" Mulder scooted closer to her, gently taking her chin and tipping her head back, trying to read her gaze.

"Nothing. I'm fine." She silently pleaded with him not to push it.

"Scully - "

"Mulder, please drop it."

He didn't listen. "Did Skinner say something to upset you?"

"Mulder, stop."

He wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't still been holding her face in his hand, but he felt her jaw tremble slightly. 'What could be this bad?' he wondered silently. He opened his mouth to say something, but she raised her own hand to cup his jaw, cutting him off. She brought her other hand up, gently removing his hold on her face, briefly kissing his palm before releasing her hold.

Instead of letting his hand fall, Mulder instead gently caressed her cheek. Almost involuntarily, Scully responded to his touch, nuzzling into his hand.

She could tell that he still wanted to ask what was going on, and she wished more than anything that she could tell him.

"At least tell me you're going to be okay."

"I'm going to be fine," she offered him, but saw the fear had not left his eyes. The time of her cancer had taken so much from both of them, and continued to show in the oddest ways, like aversion to certain adjectives. "I'm going to be okay," she corrected.

Mulder's hand slipped to the nape of her neck and pulled her to him. His lips brushed softly against hers, but it wasn't enough. She pulled him tighter to her and pressed her lips to him more firmly, her tongue begging for entrance. As Mulder lifted her effortlessly onto his lap, Scully gasped as she found herself flush against him.

Forcing herself to pull back, Scully stood up. Mulder's head fell against the back of the couch with a groan.

"We'll eat later," she whispered, holding her hand out to him. She didn't have to wait very long for his response.

***

Scully had known what Mulder looked like sleeping long before she knew the feel of his lips running over body. This was due to numerous stakeouts, hospital visits, and cross-country flights. However, she still loved to watch during the few hours he abandoned himself to unconsciousness.

Leaning over, she softly grazed a slight kiss across his temple, not wanting to wake him. "I love you," she whispered, her voice choking on the last word as she tried to suppress the tears that were clogging her throat.

"Scully," Mulder mumbled in his sleep.

One tear did escape, and slid as far as her jaw before she wiped it away. Laying her head on his shoulder, she tried to fall asleep to the steady beat of his heart.

'Please stay safe,' she thought over and over again, afraid to say it out loud.

***

Scully finally fell asleep about an hour before it was time to wake up. She was so tired that she actually slept through her alarm, but Mulder's gentle hands shook her awake nonetheless.

"Scully, maybe you should call in today. You don't look so good."

"Is that how you get all the girls, Mulder?"

"By showing concern for their well-being? Yeah, pretty much."

"It's Friday, Mulder. I just have to make it through the day and then it's the weekend."

"Ah, that's the sequence... I always get it mixed up."

"No, you just don't recognize weekends at all."

"I've actually become quite fond of weekends," he murmured, before leaning down and capturing her lips.

'God, he's making this so hard.'

"See you at work?" Mulder asked when he pulled back.

All she could do was nod, not able to force the lie past her lips.

***

"Agent Scully," Marshal Mann acknowledged her when she arrived. "You ready to disappear?"

"If I said no, would I get to stay?"

"No," Shannon said, holding up a brown wig and a new suit. "These are just to get you out of the building; you can change in there," she indicated a closet in the back of the room.

Scully tried not to think about any of this as she quickly changed into her disguise. When she exited the closet she held her arms outstretched, as if to say 'well?'

Mann and Shannon nodded in approval. Then Shannon said, "Let's get you a new life."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Mulder was trying not to look at the clock too frequently. He'd successfully cut it back to every ten seconds instead of just staring at the red second hand move from 1 to 60 and around again. Scully was officially an hour late to work. Not that he was worried.

He picked up the office phone and dialed her number again.

_"The cellular number that you are trying to reach..." _He was really beginning to hate that message.

Dialing another number, Mulder waited three rings before getting an answer. "Assistant Director Skinner's office."

"Kim, this is Agent Mulder. I was wondering-"

"Agent Mulder, the Assistant Director was expecting your call. He has some time free right now, if you would like to come up."

Well, now his Spidey Sense was tingling. Standing up and throwing on his coat, Mulder quickly said, "Thanks, Kim. I'll be right there," before leaving the office.

Mulder never realized how long an elevator ride it was up to Skinner's floor, but it was so interminable that it made him wonder if he could climb the elevator cable faster.

When he finally got there Kim gave him a reassuring smile and told him to go right in. Skinner was sitting at his desk looking through some files; he briefly glanced up when Mulder came in. "Agent Mulder, have a seat."

Mulder didn't wait long after he'd sat down to ask, "Sir, I was wondering if you'd heard from Agent Scully today?"

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about."

Unbidden, an image of Scully standing in the doorway of his apartment saying, _"Salt Lake City, Utah. Transfer effective immediately,"_ popped into his head. Was that what she was so upset about last night? Had she been transferred? No... she would have told him that.

"I'm going to ask that you remain calm while I tell you this."

"Where's Scully?" Mulder's voice quavered with barely suppressed annoyance.

"Agent Scully is perfectly safe, and will remain so if you don't do anything stupid."

A jolt of fear coursed through Mulder at his words and he stood up, his voice rising as loud as he could get without actually yelling. "_Perfectly safe_? What the hell is going on?"

"Sit down, Agent Mulder," Skinner said in a voice he must have learned in the military. He waited until Mulder had grudgingly complied before continuing. "I'm not at liberty to discuss all of the details with you. However, there is some information you may have. Agent Scully has been placed in the witness protection program due to her involvement with the Spilano case."

Mulder felt his panic level rise, along with his blood-pressure. "I _begged_ you not to put her on that case!"

"Don't play Monday morning quarterback, Agent Mulder. You didn't want her on it because you don't like it when Scully works with other people; it had nothing to do with the case itself. She's good at her job and she's trustworthy." He cleared his throat. "Unfortunately, finding a pathologist who was both of those was more difficult than one would have hoped."

Mulder nodded stiffly, but didn't completely stifle his accusatory glare. "Why is she in witness protection?"

"She's a key witness in - "

"No," Mulder ground out, "I mean, why isn't she at a FBI safe house? The FBI looks after their own, right?"

Something in Skinner's expression shifted for a second, but it was gone quickly. "There was some concern that that wouldn't be... completely safe."

"You think they have someone on the inside?"

"There is some evidence of that, yes."

"Jesus.... Sir, why didn't you just tell me? She and I would have gotten on a plane. I would have made sure nothing happened to her."

"You would have stepped in front of a bullet for her and gotten both of you killed. You're too close to this one."

"I would have made sure she was _protected_! What do you even know about the Marshals that are with her?"

"I know enough."

"Oh, well, okay then," Mulder huffed, throwing up his hands.

"Agent Mulder," Skinner cut in, "I understand that this is frustrating for you, but I would hope that you would remember who you're talking to. I would not knowingly put Agent Scully in danger."

Some of Mulder's anger seeped out of him. He leaned back in his chair, drawing in a deep breath. "Why didn't she tell me? Why am I only learning about this now?"

"That was not her decision, but it was the best way to protect both of you." Skinner let the sympathy show on his face. "Mulder, they are going to be watching you closely once they realize she's gone, if they haven't been already. You cannot have any contact with Agent Scully. It could endanger you both." Watching the younger agent in front of him, Skinner told him, "I promised Scully that I would look after you. I'm a very busy man, so I would appreciate it if you could make that as easy a job as possible."

Mulder felt the right corner of his mouth quirk slightly into something resembling a smile. 'Of course she made him promise that. She's being hunted by mob hit-men and she's worried about me.'

"I'll see what I can do, sir."

"One more thing, Agent. Agent Scully wasn't allowed to bring any personal effects with her." Skinner opened his desk drawer, pulled out an envelope, and handed it to Mulder. "She asked that you keep track of this for her."

Mulder looked quizzically at Skinner, but the AD said nothing else, merely nodding at the envelope. Slitting open the glued down flap, Mulder poured the contents into his hand... and wanted to cry.

Glinting up at him was Scully's cross.

***

Scully stared out the window of the airplane, fiddling with the collar of her shirt near her clavicle where her necklace usually rested. She tried to imagine what was going on in DC right now. Mulder was probably way past the point of panicking by now. She hoped Skinner would find a way to calm him down, but she doubted it. Would anyone think to tell her mother before she filed a missing persons report? Would either of her brothers even notice she was gone?

"Pretzel?" Mann offered, leaning from his aisle seat across a disgruntled Shannon.

"No thanks," Scully replied with a polite smile. She wasn't sure she could choke down a pretzel right now. "So, how does this work? You just drop me off at my new apartment, put some money in a savings account, and that's it?"

"Essentially," Shannon said, taking a pretzel out of her partner's hand. "We'll check in with you every now and again, but really it's best for you if you don't see us - that means nothing's wrong."

***

Two hours later they had landed at SFO. Scully had been given more casual clothes to change into again (at least she was finally able to get rid of the wig), and the moving agency had been called to see if they were on their way.

They drove for about another half an hour, before pulling off Highway 101. Almost immediately, they came across a sign that said 'Welcome to Buena Valle'. Turning onto Redwood Avenue, they stopped in front of a house that looked like it was pulled out of _Better Homes._ Judging by the moving truck parked outside, this appeared to be their last stop.

"Did you get me roommates as well?" Scully asked, staring at the house in disbelief.

The Marshals glanced back at her. Mann shook his head. "No, this is just for you."

"You're not afraid that there's going to be a revolt against the bourgeoisie and I'll get decapitated?"

"Decapitation rates have gone way down in this town in the last decade or so," Shannon returned with an amused smile.

"Well, that's a relief."

"Are you ready for us to start unloading this stuff now?" one of the movers called from where he and one other man were leaning against the truck.

"Your key is in the purse I gave you," Shannon whispered.

Scully sighed, and called back, "Sure, let's get started."

***

_"Don't you ever just want to stop? Get out of the damn car, and lead something approaching a normal life."_

_"This is a normal life."_

Sometimes Scully was really tired of Mulder being right. As she stood alone in her new house, which was more beautiful than anything she'd ever imagined as a child when she tried to picture what being a grown-up would be like, she felt like those words were mocking her.

She didn't want this. She didn't want the suburban house with four more rooms than she actually required, and nothing but possessions to fill them with. She didn't want to live in a neighborhood where everyone had known each other since they were in diapers.

She wanted to be in her apartment, arguing with Mulder about weather balloons.

Scully'd lived by herself for most of her adult life, but she'd never felt this alone before.

She was sorely tempted to leave all of the boxes until tomorrow, and just go take a bubble bath before going to bed. She knew the boxes would taunt her for the rest of the night, so she grabbed a box cutter one of the movers had left her and started working.

Within a few hours, she had all of the boxes for her bedroom and kitchen unpacked, and was working on the living room when the bell rang.

Instinctively she grabbed for a gun she was no longer allowed to carry -- and came up empty. Instead, she picked up the box cutter, tucking it into the back pocket of her jeans as she went to answer the door.

Looking through the peep hole, all Scully saw was a woman around her grandmother's age. Scully plastered on a smile and opened the door. "Hi."

The older woman smiled back at her. "Hello, dear. My name is Jane Evans - my husband and I live next door. I heard that you just moved in, and I know that the last thing you probably want to do now is cook, so I brought some food." She held up a plate with healthy helpings of lasagna, salad, and a wheat roll.

"Wow," Scully said, taking the plate, "thank you so much. Would you like to come in? The place is a bit of a mess right now, but..."

"Oh, I can't right now, but you are a sweetheart for offering. My Mikey is having a bit of an off day today, and I don't like to leave him alone long. I just wanted to say hello, and let you know that you're welcome to come over whenever you like."

"Thank you, Mrs. Evans." She offered the woman a more genuine smile.

"Don't think a thing of it. I should go... I'm sorry, dear, I didn't get your name."

"Oh, sorry. Laura Williamson."

"Well, welcome to the neighborhood, Laura."

***

Mulder had trouble falling asleep at the best of times. Around midnight, he decided he was tired of pretending that he was going to get any rest, and got up and put on his running clothes. Maybe if he wore himself out he'd slip into unconsciousness.

All his mind seemed capable of producing were horrific images of Scully murdered. With each new thought he ran a little faster, a little farther, trying to out-run his thoughts.

He wasn't really surprised when he ended up in front of Scully's building. Without thinking, he pulled out his keys and unlocked the door to the apartment building, walking up to her floor.

Halfway down the hallway, he stopped short. Scully's door was cracked open. Pulling out his gun, he inched closer. Pushing open the door the rest of the way revealed that the place had been trashed. Just to make sure, Mulder checked the rest of the apartment. But, as he suspected, there was no one.

Taking out his cell phone, Mulder dialed Skinner's number. "Sir, I think you may want to send some people over to Scully's apartment. It looks like they know she's gone."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Dana Scully knew that she was considered highly qualified. She had both an undergraduate degree in physics and a medical degree, as well as being a fully trained FBI agent. She and Mulder had one of the highest solve rates in bureau history.

Laura Williamson had none of these things.

She'd been given a résumé, complete with references, but all of the jobs listed were things she had very little, if any, experience in. She'd been a waitress for exactly three months in college before she decided she couldn't take the customers anymore, and she'd never worked as anyone's assistant, unless you counted being a T.A.

Unfortunately, she had no idea how long she would be in this town, so she had to get a job. So, after breakfast, she threw on some shoes that she would never have bought for herself but that someone at the Marshal service thought Laura would love, and went out in search of a paper and help wanted signs.

It was a fairly sunny Saturday afternoon, and so a lot of people were out enjoying the day. A few smiled at her as they passed; others just bore curious looks, which reminded Scully just how small a town this was.

She finally found a newspaper rack outside of a small market. As she was digging out some change from her purse, she almost didn't notice the tiny figure that came barreling at her. The little girl who had been running full-speed looked up at her in fright, before scrambling to hide behind the fruit stand in front of the market. She'd barely hidden before two older boys came rounding the same corner the little girl had just come from, looking ready for a fight.

"Hey, lady, did a girl just run by here?" one of the boys demanded, panting for breath.

Scully pointed to a street opposite them. "I think I did see someone run that way. You boys might be able to catch her if you hurry."

The boys took off running again, not bothering to say another word. Scully waited a couple of beats after they'd disappeared before crouching down next to the little girl. She looked absolutely terrified, sitting with her knees pulled to her chest, a blue stuffed animal clutched between her arms and knees.

"They're gone, sweetie," Scully reassured. "You can come out now."

The girl shook her head, but didn't respond further.

"Were those boys your brothers?"

She shook her head again.

'Okay...' Scully thought, 'maybe a different tactic was called for.'

"My name's Laura," she offered. Scully glanced down at the stuffed animal. "And, if I'm not mistaken, this is lovable, furry old Grover," Scully said the last in her best muppet impression. It wasn't really close but the girl giggled nonetheless. "What's your name?"

"Emma," the little girl whispered, finally looking up at her.

Scully forced the calm smile to stay on her face, trying desperately not to compare her to another shy girl who had left her life as abruptly as she'd entered it.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Emma. Why were those boys chasing after you?"

"I called them doody-heads." Emma's voice got a little stronger, and her chin rose as if preemptively defending her actions.

"Ah. Did they deserve it?"

Emma nodded furiously. "They told me I couldn't play with them because I'm a girl."

"Well, that's just silly," Scully agreed, earning a smile. "You feel safe coming out now?"

The little girl studied her before uncurling slightly and holding out a small hand for help up. When they were both standing Emma refused to let go of Scully's hand as she looked around for her tormentors.

"Would you like me to walk you home?" Scully offered. Emma nodded, still looking like she expected the two boys to jump out of nowhere. "Where do you live, sweetie?"

Emma pointed further down Main Street. "The building with the big bell in it."

Scully looked in confusion in the direction she had pointed as they started walking. "The church?"

Emma nodded, looking sad now. "Mommy and I had to move there because my dad would get really mad sometimes and yell."

Scully had to quash the desire to hug the little girl walking next to her. She settled for squeezing Emma's hand reassuringly. "Do you like it at the church?"

Emma shrugged. "It's quieter."

She looked like she was afraid Scully wouldn't like her answer, but Scully just nodded in understanding, and they walked the rest of the way in silence. When they arrived at their destination Scully was going to say her goodbyes, but Emma didn't let go of her hand and continued to walk into the church.

A priest sitting in the front pew glanced up when he heard them enter. "Why, Emma, I thought you were going to go out to play." He glanced at Scully. "You've brought a friend."

"Miss Laura rescued me, Father Murphy," Emma said, feeling comfortable enough in her surroundings to let go of Scully's hand.

"Rescued you?" the priest asked, concerned.

"There was just a minor disagreement between Emma and a couple older boys," Scully reassured him. "She didn't need much help at all."

"I see. Well, it sounds like you two had quite the adventure today."

Emma nodded. "Is my mom here?"

"She's downstairs, I believe."

Emma started to take off, but turned and called, "Thanks, Miss Laura," before actually running in the direction of the stairs.

Scully stood there for a moment, not really sure what to say.

"I'm not sure I've ever seen Emma open up to anyone that quickly," Father Murphy offered.

"I didn't really do anything."

"Well, I don't believe that's true, but all the same it's an excellent sign."

Scully nodded uncomfortably. "Well, I should go."

"Will you be here tomorrow?" the priest asked. His voice only held curiosity, no accusation or expectation.

She considered the man in front of her briefly. He reminded her a little of Father McCue. "I'll be here," Scully confirmed.

As she exited the church, Scully realized she hadn't gotten her paper.

***

Mulder pushed and held the buzzer to the Lone Gunmen's lair until he heard Frohike's grumbling, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." When the 20 locks had been disengaged and the door swung open Mulder brushed past the shorter man.

"Mulder, it's been too long. Why don't you come in?" Frohike said sarcastically as he closed the door.

Mulder ignored him. "I need your guys' help," he addressed the three of them.

"You look like hell, G-man," Langly commented, in his usual cavalier tone.

"What do you need?" Byers asked.

Frohike, having also noticed Mulder's appearance, didn't wait for Mulder to answer Byers' question. "Where's Scully?"

They knew he'd hit the nail on the head when Mulder's eyes slipped shut and he sighed. "What do you guys know about the Spilano family?"

***

When Mulder had finished filling the trio in on what had been happening the last couple days there was a long silence, while they all took in the story.

Finally, Frohike stood up and grabbed for his coat. "Come on, guys. We're going to go find these guys and unleash some serious kung-fu on their asses."

"Sit down, Frohike," Mulder said as calmly as he could, given the circumstances. "The four of us getting ourselves killed was not the help I came here for."

"They need to know that they can't mess with Scully without major consequences!"

"Fro-"

Mulder and Frohike shared a look of common frustration and anger, but also of understanding. "Fine," the older man said before sitting back down.

"What do you need, Mulder?" Byers asked again, sympathy coloring his voice.

"I'm not on the inside on this case, guys. I need to know everything you can get on the agents working it. Skinner thinks there's someone in the FBI who's feeding the Spilanos information. If we can find out who that is..."

Langly got up immediately and went over to one of the computers. "We're on it, Mulder."

Byers laid a hand on their friend's arm. "We'll let you know as soon as we've got something, okay?"

Mulder nodded. "I really appreciate this, guys."

"Mulder, you do look like shit," Frohike said in a calmer tone.

"Frohike, you can't sway me with a few cheap compliments; I'm not that kind of girl. I expect dinner first."

Frohike tipped his head to the side. "Dinner's actually what I was thinking. You haven't eaten since Scully left, have you?"

Mulder pulled a bag of sunflower seeds out of his pocket and waved it around, causing a few to spill out. "Breakfast of champions."

Frohike snorted in disgust. "I'm going to make you some actual food, and you're crashing here tonight. If Scully comes back and finds out that you've gone down three notches on your belt, she'll hang us all by our thumbs."

"I don't need a babysitter - I'm not an infant."

"No, you're much higher maintenance."

***

Scully walked into the church on Sunday morning feeling out of place. She hadn't gone to church since she'd come back from Africa, not counting her recent visit to a Buddhist temple.

Her mom had asked her about it once, but what could she say? "Sorry, Mom. I found an alien spaceship with the Bible written on it and now I'm having a crisis of faith... again"? Somehow she wasn't sure her mom would take that well.

"Miss Laura," a small voice whispered excitedly next to her. She turned to see Emma standing besides her. "Come sit with me and my mom. She wants to meet you!"

"Sure, sweetie." Scully let the little girl lead her further into the church.

***

"Mulder, when I said you had to give the labs until at least Monday, I did not mean Monday at 7 AM," Skinner grumbled on seeing the Agent sitting on his couch as he walked into work.

Mulder shrugged. "You didn't specify, sir, so here I am."

"So I see," Skinner said, resigned to having to deal with Mulder before his first cup of coffee.

Mulder got up and followed Skinner into his office. "So, have there been any developments?"

"Agent Mulder, you yourself didn't see anything in particular missing from her apartment. The technicians could not find that any files had been accessed. And no one in her building heard or saw anything."

"I've never understood that." Mulder collapsed into a seat across from the AD's desk, where Skinner was now sitting. "The amount of times she's gotten attacked in that apartment without anyone reporting anything is truly baffling. What has to happen up there for them to get concerned?"

"Perhaps, like your neighbors, they now consider it ambient noise," Skinner suggested dryly while silently wishing for some caffeine.

"You think this is funny?" Mulder demanded, leaning forward.

"No, Agent Mulder, I don't," Skinner replied with a sharp reproving glance. "And while it is irritating that none of the other residents heard anything, I can't make them have done so."

"So that's it then?"

"For now, until we hear something from the labs - which, like I said, should be sometime today. We are devoting as many resources to this as possible."

Mulder nodded in resignation and started to rise.

"Sir?" Kim asked, knocking on the door.

"Come in, Kim, we're done."

"Sir, the lab at Quantico is on line 1 for you. They say they have the results you were waiting for."

Mulder froze, and Skinner motioned for him to sit back down. "Thank you, Kim. I'll take that now."

"Skinner," he said into the phone. For five minutes Mulder listened to a one-sided conversation that told him absolutely nothing. "Okay. Yes, please send the full report over as soon as possible. I appreciate the quick work you did on this."

"Well?" Mulder asked impatiently when Skinner had finally hung up the phone. "Did they find anything?"

Skinner sighed, reaching up to massage the base of his neck. "No, Mulder, they didn't."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Mulder rested his forehead against Scully's as they both tried to bring their breathing under control. Pulling back, Mulder took a moment to simply take in the sight of her. Her hair was fanned out on the pillow behind her, her lips slightly pinker from their harsh kisses, and there were tear tracks on her cheeks from their earlier reunion. He brought up a hand, caressing her face, trying to ease the pain of their separation with one touch.

"I was so scared, Scully," his words were so hushed that if she had been further away she wouldn't have heard them.

"I know, Mulder." Scully arched up under him and captured his mouth with hers. "Mulder, I need you."

"Scully," he groaned, resting his head in the crook of her neck.

"Mulder?"

"Scully?"

***

Two people on opposite ends of the country startled awake, gasping the other's name, before realizing they were still alone.

***

Mulder rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes. These dreams had been going on for almost a week now, and each time they felt a little more real... until he woke up, of course. It didn't take an advanced degree in psychology to figure out what they meant, and yet there seemed to be more to them than what was on the surface.

Leaning back on his bed, he decided he might as well try and get a little more sleep before he had to go into work, but was interrupted just as he was starting to drift off by the ringing of his phone.

"Mulder."

"I think we've got something, G-man. You better get over here."

Maybe he wasn't that tired after all.

***

Scully flopped back onto her bed in frustration. These dreams had been going on for a week now, and she hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep since they'd started. They also weren't doing much to ease her homesickness; each time she woke up from one she felt like hopping on a plane and going straight back to DC -- which was breaking the first rule of witness protection, she was fairly certain.

Closing her eyes, she tried to remember the feel of Mulder's arms wrapped around her, and drifted off.

***

"Guys, do you have any idea what time it is?" Mulder asked, as he was let into the Lone Gunmen's headquarters.

"It's 5:34," Langly offered, not looking up from his computer.

"Okay, does someone other than Big Ben over there want to tell me what's going on?"

Frohike held out a file folder to Mulder. "I told you on the phone -- I think we've got something."

"I thought you already looked into all the agents on the task force. You said they were all clean."

"They all seemed to be at first," Byers agreed, "but we did a little more digging."

Mulder flipped open the file and scanned the documents. "Okay, maybe it's just because I haven't had any coffee yet this morning, but I'm not really seeing anything."

"Agent Marcus here has been depositing large amounts of cash into his bank account pretty much since he joined the case."

"Marcus?" Mulder asked incredulously. "The guy's a boy scout. Scully and I worked with him on a couple cases while we were with Domestic Terrorism. There's no way he's the guy."

"You want to tell me why he's been getting a few thousand dollars a month anonymously, and living way beyond the means of a fibbie?" Frohike asked, slightly miffed.

"It's at least worth checking out, isn't it?" Byers offered.

Mulder looked down at the evidence in his hands. "I'll take it with me and look through it," he conceded.

***

Scully rang the bell to her next door neighbors' house. Since she'd gotten her job as a secretary in Doctor Yee's dentist office, she'd made it a point to check in with Mrs. Evans and her husband on her way to work.

"Good morning, dear. How are you this morning?" the older woman greeted her kindly.

"I'm good, Mrs. Evans. I just wanted to check and see if there was anything you or Mr. Evans needed today."

"No, we're alright; thank you so much though. Dear..." Mrs. Evans looked at her with concern, "you look a bit under the weather today. Are you alright?"

"I've just had some trouble sleeping," Scully reassured her.

"Well, if you're sure...." Mrs. Evans considered her before coming to a decision. "Come inside for a moment."

"I really should be going - "

"It'll only be a minute."

Knowing there wasn't much use in arguing, Scully stepped inside.

"Go have a seat in the living room," Mrs. Evans instructed. "I'll be right back."

She'd only been sitting for a few moments when she heard the familiar shuffling of Mr. Evans walker. "Ah," he said as he came into the living room, "I thought I heard someone come in. What's a pretty little thing like you doing visiting us old folks?"

"Good morning, Mr. Evans," Scully got up to help him get to his chair, but Mr. Evans waved her off. "I just stopped by to check in on you both."

"You need to get out more, young lady. Now, if I was a little younger and not married to the most beautiful woman in the world, I'd help you out with that, but you should find a man your own age and have some fun. Now, I do have a grandson.... He's married as well, but we're not terribly attached to his wife, so you just say the word...."

"I'll take that into consideration," Scully laughed.

"Mikey, you're not bothering this poor girl, are you?"

"Bothering? Of course not! She came here to try and steal me away from you, but I was having none of it."

"Are you sure? Laura must know some nice young men -- perhaps we could make a trade." Mrs. Evans turned from her husband's feigned indignant look and handed Scully a container. "Here you go, dear. Some homemade chicken noodle soup. It will make you feel better."

"Thanks, Mrs. Evans, I'll see both of you tomorrow."

"If you're still not feeling well after work, come back over and I'll give you some more soup."

***

Special Agent Jeff Marcus was running late for work again. He hadn't always been like this; in fact, he remembered a time not too long ago when he was always a half hour early to any shift.

He was moving so quickly in his attempt to get to his desk before his supervisor noticed that he didn't have time to stop when another agent rounded a corner, accidentally putting himself in his path. With Jeff still going at top speed, when they collided, Jeff went flying back and landed on his ass. The other agent remained standing but just barely.

"Whoa. Okay, maybe that's why we don't run in the hallways."

Jeff shook off his slightly dazed feeling and looked up into the amused face of Fox Mulder. Mulder held out a hand, which Jeff gratefully accepted.

"Agent Mulder! I am so sorry; I wasn't watching where I was going and..."

"Don't worry about it, Marcus," Mulder said easily. Jeff didn't know why so many of the other agents disliked Mulder; he'd always been decent to him. That was one of the reasons Jeff felt so bad about his partner...

"Thanks, Agent Mulder. I owe you one." Jeff said his goodbyes and rushed off, without running this time, the rest of the way to his desk. In his hurry Jeff completely missed the speculative look on Mulder's face.

***

Jeff had actually managed to get his day off to a decent start. His SAC hadn't noticed that he was a little late so the morning hadn't started off with a lecture, and he'd had time to finish up some paperwork that he'd been neglecting all week. So, by the time lunch had rolled around, he felt he'd actually earned some time away from his desk.

As he was walking down to the cafeteria a voice commented from behind him, "Well, your pace had slowed down a bit. That's got to be a good sign."

Jeff turned around and smiled. "Hey, Agent Mulder. Yeah, I'm done with my marathon training for the day."

"It looked like you have a shot as long as it's not an obstacle course you're running."

Jeff offered him a chagrined smile, still feeling somewhat bad about their run-in earlier. "Where are you on your way to now?"

"Spooky agents have to eat too, Marcus."

Jeff smiled. "Why don't you join me?"

***

"You really don't look good, Laura," Becky, the young dental hygienist, commented for the third time that day.

Scully sighed, "Becky, I'm really going to start taking that personally."

Becky ignored her and placed a hand on her head, feeling for a temperature. "You're not warm, but you do look really pale. This might be what Sarah came down with earlier this week. Her kids were out of school for a week with the flu."

"I really don't feel sick; it's just a little warm in here."

Becky's expression said that she wasn't buying it. "Go home."

"If I start feeling sick, I'll go home," Scully maintained, and stood up to go file some patient files. Her argument was slightly undercut when she started feeling dizzy the second she stood up and fell back into her chair.

"Okay, that's it. Get your purse - I'm driving you home."

Scully tried to nod, but it made her head swim again.

***

"No way are the Yankees going to take it this year! The Red Sox are going all the way," Jeff protested animately, around the last bite of his sandwich.

"It really amazes me how delusional Red Sox fans remain," Mulder joked. "It's been what? 82 years?"

"So they're due!" Jeff maintained.

Mulder just laughed. "Yeah, come talk to me in October. We'll see what teams are still in it."

Jeff's cell rang, cutting off his retort. "Marcus. Okay, I'll be right there." He hung up the phone. "I've gotta go."

"Okay," Mulder said, draining his soda.

"See you later, man." Jeff got up to leave. "Mulder?"

"Yeah?"

He hesitated for a second before saying, "I'm really sorry."

Something shifted in Mulder's expression that almost looked like suspicion. "What do you mean?"

Jeff, slightly surprised my the hard edge Mulder's voice had taken, opened his mouth but then snapped it shut and shook his head. "Nothing. Never mind. I'll see you around."

***

"You're late," Tony Spilano said when the man he'd been waiting for sat down across from him. Tony wasn't a man that was used to being stood up.

"I had trouble getting away. The AD in charge of this case is keeping a closer eye on all of us since word got out about the hit."

Tony sipped his drink casually, not showing any emotions. "That's your problem."

"Well, it's also your problem! If I can't get information anymore because they're suspicious - "

"Then you're of no use to me anymore." Tony watched as the agent tried to hide the fear in his eyes, but he'd been working with his father his whole life and had seen fear in stronger men's eyes. "What are you doing about Agent Scully?"

The agent in front of him gulped. "Actually, I do have an idea about that..."

***

Scully sank down on her bed and closed her eyes. The dizziness had passed, but she still felt a little worn out. Thankfully, she had the next couple of days off.

As her breathing evened out, she felt a familiar arm slide around her waist.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," she whispered into the darkness.

"You getting tired of me, Scully?" Mulder whispered into her ear in return, squeezing his arm around her affectionately.

She turned in his embrace so that they were facing each other. She stared into his hazel eyes and swallowed hard. "No... I just wish it was really you."

"I know exactly how you feel, Scully."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Jane Evans was becoming very worried about her next door neighbor. From what very little she saw of the woman over the weekend, she appeared to have come down with something that was knocking her out. Jane had just been coming home from the store Friday afternoon in time to see Laura being practically carried into her house by a co-worker. She had said that she was fine, but Jane wasn't sure how that could have been true.

Today, Jane had been out in the garden since early this morning and had yet to see Laura leave the house. She didn't know whether to be concerned or not about her lack of appearance; it was well past the time that she usually left for work, but maybe she'd just taken the day off...

"Would you please stop pretending to garden and go over there and check on her already?" Mikey grumbled from his seat on the porch, head still buried behind his newspaper.

Picking up the hand shovel she hadn't realized she dropped, Jane answered indignantly, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Alright, Mrs. Kravitz, but you haven't actually planted one gardenia in the last 15 minutes, so either you've changed your mind about the flowers or you're distracted by something."

She was about to reply when she thought she heard the sound of footsteps and looked over at Laura's house.

No one was there.

Glancing back at her husband, she saw the wide smirk that had spread across his face and knew she'd been caught. "Do shut up, dear," Jane muttered, causing him to laugh. "I'll be right back."

"What a good idea. What's an eight letter word for stubborn that starts with 'o'?" Mikey waited a beat before looking up, and noticed that she was no longer there. "Okay, well get back to me."

***

Mulder was ready to declare Jeff Marcus the most boring person on the entire planet. The man didn't do anything but go to work and go home. He didn't even vary his route to either place, no matter what the traffic.

After his information gathering session on Friday, Mulder had been forced to admit that there was something off about Agent Marcus. However, he was not quite ready to buy the Gunmen's theory.

***

"Is everything set?"

"You have to give me a few more days. If we do this wrong, it's all over."

"We don't have a lot more time."

"All the more reason to get it right."

***

There was no answer when Jane rang the front doorbell. She rang it a second time just to be sure she was heard. She reasoned to herself that she must have missed Laura leaving that morning, and that she should just go back home and take it as a sign that she was feeling better. But, for some reason, it didn't ring true with her.

Walking around to the back of the house, Jane peered through the sliding glass door. On her first glance through nothing looked out of the ordinary, but as she scanned the room one more time something near the staircase caught her eye.

Gasping, she ran back home, past her husband, who asked her what was wrong, and grabbed the phone to dial 911.

"We need an ambulance to 167 Redwood Avenue. There's a woman who's unconscious. I can't tell if she's breathing."

***

"Hey, Marcus! What's got you so cheerful this morning?" Agent Adam Dell, Jeff's partner, asked as he plopped down at his own desk in the bullpen.

Jeff looked up from the report he was reading through and smiled just to annoy Adam, who looked like he'd gone on a weekend bender and still wasn't over it. "I had a pretty good weekend." He pretended to scrutinize his partner. "You look like you had a _very_ good weekend."

"Fuck you, man." The harshness of Adam's words was somewhat lessened by his shit-eating grin. "Good weekend, huh? Does that mean you scored or that your guild went on a big raid?"

"Yes," Jeff said simply, causing Adam to snort.

"You really have to stop hanging out with smart-asses -- they're ruining your country-boy charm."

"Well, I asked for a new partner, but they wouldn't give me one."

Adam gave him the one fingered salute, before actually starting up his computer, so he could pretend to work more effectively. "I was actually referring to Spooky Mulder. When did you guys get so buddy-buddy?"

Jeff tensed a little bit but tried not to show it. "Mulder's actually not that bad."

"Didn't he manage to finally drive his partner away?"

"That's the rumor..."

"I don't know how you sat through a whole meal with him," Adam laughed, ignoring how uncomfortable Jeff was becoming. "I remember what he was like the first time his partner disappeared. He was always quiet, except when he was yelling at people for no apparent reason. The man had no right carrying a gun."

"Well, he wasn't quiet or angry a few days ago. Maybe they parted on better terms this time."

"Or she left a forwarding address instead of just hitching a ride on the nearest UFO."

"Dell, shut the hell up." Jeff had meant for his words to sound teasing but he knew he'd missed the mark.

Adam's head snapped up from his computer screen, finally registering the irritation in Jeff's voice. "Hey man, I didn't mean anything by it... You're actually making friends with Spoo-- I mean Mulder?"

"He's always seemed like a good guy to me." Jeff was very quickly getting tired of defending himself. "Actually, I was thinking about inviting him to our poker game on Wednesday."

"I don't know, Marcus. You know Callen hasn't forgiven Mulder for showing him up on his profile for the Mazer case."

"Then maybe Callen won't invite himself over this week."

Adam seemed to ponder this before smiling widely. "You should definitely invite Mulder then."

***

_"Mulder, you know that proper surveillance requires two pairs of agents, one pair relieving the other after twelve hours."_

Mulder was really starting to understand the need for Article 30, paragraph 8.7. It was the fourth day of his surveillance on Agent Marcus and he was starting to go a little stir crazy. He was glad that he hadn't attempted 24-hour surveillance; he didn't much like the last padded cell he'd been put in and he wasn't tempted to return to it.

He was about to call it a night when a Lexus pulled up in front of Marcus' house. A blonde-haired man with heavily gelled hair climbed out of it and looked around nervously before walking up to Marcus' house.

When Agent Marcus opened the door he did not seem happy to see the other man. Their conversation appeared to get pretty heated, but not so loud that Mulder could catch any of it. He briefly considered trying to get closer, but then the blonde man pulled out a stuffed white envelope and, after shoving it into Marcus' hand, stormed away. As he was getting in his car, Mulder took a picture of the man, trying not to feel like a PI. Marcus watch the man go with a look in he eyes that appeared to be a cross between anger and regret, before going back inside.

Mulder waited a few more minutes to make sure Marcus was settled in for the night before driving off himself.

***

Mulder watched as Langly's hands flew across the keyboard, looking up the license plate number he'd gotten off the blonde man's car. The Gunmen had gotten to work as soon as Mulder had finished telling them about the strange encounter.

"Mulder," Byers said, getting his attention and leading him away from the other two, "there's something we haven't asked you..."

Mulder sighed, not really liking the sound of this. "What?"

"Do you want us to try and find Scully?"

"No." Mulder almost surprised himself with his quick vehement response.

Byers nodded in acceptance, but he had to double check. "Are you sure?"

"Byers..." Mulder sighed and slid a hand down his face, suddenly exhausted, "if I know where she is, I don't know that I'd be able to stop myself from following her there. I have to assume they're watching for that. I won't put her in that kind of danger."

Again Byers nodded. "Okay."

"Ha! My kung-fu is the best!" Langly exclaimed, arms raised in victory.

Mulder and Byers smiled and went to join the other two as Frohike groused that Langly should stop gloating and just tell them what he found.

"You're just jealous, Frohike," Langly teased a little more, before turning to Mulder. "Mark Engleside."

"That's who Marcus was meeting with?"

"That's who owns the car," Langly clarified. He turned the computer screen with Mark Engleside's DMV photo on it. He was at least 50, with graying hair than had originally been brown. "Doesn't really look like your guy, does it?"

"No, it doesn't," Mulder agreed, sitting down on a nearby stool in frustration.

"What's with the celebration then?" Frohike asked.

"Oh, ye of little faith." Langly hid the photo of Engleside and brought up another window. "Is this him?"

Mulder sat up a little straighter. "Yeah."

"Is he Engleside's son?"

"No, Mark Engleside has no living relatives. This is Jeremy Miller. He's the co-signer on the lease to Mr. Engleside's home."

"Does either of them have any connections to the Spilanos?"

That took a little of the wind out of Langly's sails. "Not as far as I can tell."

There was a moment where none of them said anything. Byers laid a hand on Mulder's arm. "We'll keep looking."

Mulder nodded and went to say something when his cell phone rang. Walking away from the group, he went to answer it.

While he was out of earshot, Frohike leaned over and punched Langly in the arm. "No connection to the Spilanos?"

"I can't create a connection where there is none, Doohickey!"

"But did you have to get his hopes up?"

"I was happy I found the guy!"

"Guys!" Byers warned, as Mulder walked back over looking confusedly at his phone.

"Apparently I'm going to play poker..."

***

Scully's head was killing her. As she lay in what she assumed was a hospital bed (judging by the sounds and smells of the room), she tried to crack open an eye, but the little light that let in sliced like a razor blade through her head. Maybe she should just sleep a little longer...

An hour later, she woke up again. Her head still hurt, but it was a little more manageable. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a tall figure with brown hair standing by her window.

"Mulder?"

"No, Agent Scully, it's Marshal Mann." The marshal sat down in the chair next to her bed. "You gave us all a scare."

"What happened?"

"Well, it seems you were unsuccessful at busting your skull open."

"That's a relief, because it sure feels like I did."

"I'm sure." Mann gave her a small smile. "I'll go let the doctor know that you're awake."

Scully managed to get herself up into a sitting position without throwing up by the time Mann returned with the doctor.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Thomas."

"I'll be right outside if you need me, Laura," Mann told her, she assumed to let her know that she was here under her new name.

"Thanks."

"You have very loyal friends," the doctor observed. "An older couple came in with you until your friend outside showed up. I believe a young girl also came to visit you while you were unconscious."

Scully could only nod.

"Now, you were very lucky. You'll have a bad headache for awhile, and you have a relatively minor concussion, but both you and the baby are fine, so - "

Scully's head snapped up quickly, but she was in so much shock she didn't notice the pain that motion caused. "Excuse me... What?"

***

Mulder walked up the driveway to Marcus' house and rang the doorbell. He was beginning to doubt the wisdom of accepting this invitation, but figured there might at least be an opportunity to look around for some more information.

The door opened and he walked in. As soon as the entrance was shut behind him, he heard the click of the safety of a gun.

"Agent Mulder, I'm so glad you could make it."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

_The door opened and he walked in. As soon as the entrance was shut behind him, he heard the click of the safety of a gun._

_"Agent Mulder, I'm so glad you could make it."_

Mulder didn't turn around, but he didn't have to; he recognized the voice. "You know, Agent Dell, if you didn't want me to come to the game tonight, you could have just told Marcus not to invite me."

Dell stepped forward and dug his weapon into Mulder's right side. "Shut the fuck up, Spooky," he growled, patting Mulder down and removing both of his guns. He prodded him forward, through the living room and the kitchen, to the entrance of the garage. Mulder silently took in each room, noticing the conspicuous absence of anyone else.

'Not much of a poker game,' he thought wryly.

"Open the door, Mulder," Dell ordered when they arrived at the Hummer parked in the garage.

"You know these cars get horrible mileage?" Mulder offered. If he could just distract Dell for long enough...

"Open the goddamn door!"

Mulder did as instructed and opened the back passenger side door. He was stunned momentarily by what was revealed: Agent Marcus, unconscious and tied up on the floor of the car.

Before he could react, he felt the sting of a needle in the back of his right arm. The world around him swam and he fell forward into the car.

***

'Pregnant?' Scully thought for the millionth time since the doctor had left her room. 'How did this happen? Unless barren means something different than I learned in med school.... How am I going to tell Mulder? If there was ever a time he would wear his panic face.... We should have heard the news together.' She silently sent up a curse on the Spilano Family. What more were they going to take from her?

Tears gathered in Scully's eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

There was a knock on her door and Mann, now accompanied by Shannon, came back into the room. "So, what did the doctor say? Are you good to go home?"

Scully briefly considered what to tell them, and settled on, "He said I could leave as soon as he had the paperwork ready."

"Excellent," Mann enthused, but Shannon looked slightly suspicious.

"Did he say what was wrong?"

"He said - " A sharp pain in Scully's right arm took her by surprise, causing her to gasp out loud and clutch it. The two marshals started forward in alarm, as Scully's face went ashen and she fell back onto the bed, her eyes slipping shut.

***

Scully looked at her surroundings, but there wasn't much to take it. Everything around her was ink black as if she was in space, but there was what felt like a floor under her -- not that she could see it. As her eyes adjusted, she spotted a curled up figure that she immediately recognized.

"Mulder?" she asked, hesitantly crawling over to him. He didn't move. She gently checked for a pulse and felt its steady rhythm. Then she ran her fingers through his hair, looking for a head injury. He groaned in response to her ministrations.

"Scully?" he said, but it wasn't really a question. "I know you make house-calls, but this is a bit ridiculous even for you, isn't it?"

"I see you're fine," Scully commented dryly, smiling with relief. "Where are we, Mulder?"

"I have no idea."

"You must have a theory though." She gently lifted his head and placed it in her lap, continuing to run her fingers through his hair.

"My theory?" Mulder asked, nestling closer to her. "My theory is I'm about to die and dreamt you up so I could see you before that happens."

"Well, I don't feel dreamed up."

He cracked open an eye and looked up at her with a teasing glint. "You saying that you think we're communicating psychically?" Scully didn't say anything, raising an eyebrow at him. "Now I know I'm dreaming, Scully," Mulder laughed.

Replaying his words in her head, she asked in alarm, "What do you mean, you think you're about to die?"

"I think I got myself into a tough spot that I might not be able to get out of." He said it so casually, as if to say 'Hey, it was bound to happen eventually', but his eyes held signs of sadness and fear.

Now Scully began to wish this was a dream. "Mulder, what did you do?"

"It doesn't matter," he said with a shake of his head. "Scully, I want you to promise me something. No matter what happens, you'll stay safe."

"Oh God," Scully breathed, and she felt tears gathering in her eyes. "They have you, don't they, Mulder? The Spilanos."

Mulder reached up and brushed away a tear that had escaped without her noticing. "It doesn't matter," he repeated.

"Of course it matters! They're doing this to you because of me. You can't expect me to just - "

"Why does this feel like our roles are reversed?" Mulder asked, chuckling softly.

"Mulder, this isn't funny."

"No, it's very serious. They're doing this because I was sticking my nose where it didn't belong. Don't let them use this to get you to come out of hiding."

"What would you do, Mulder?"

"That's why I'm telling you not to do it. Scully, I can't be the reason they kill you."

They stared into each other's eyes, neither willing to give an inch.

"There's something I need to tell you," Scully said finally.

"What?

"Mulder, I'm - "

***

" - pregnant."

"Welcome back, Ms. Williamson."

Scully's eyes fluttered open and she found herself looking up into the cheerful face of her doctor. She bolted straight up. "What happened?"

"You lost consciousness again," he said sympathetically, laying a hand on her shoulder to keep her from getting out of the hospital bed. "Unfortunately, this does mean we will have to keep you here a little longer. We can't have you passing out randomly; you'll just end up right back in the hospital."

Ignoring him, she glanced around the room. "Where are the man and the woman who were with me earlier?"

The doctor seemed caught off guard by her forceful attitude, but took it in stride. "They're just outside. Do you want me to have them come in?"

"Yes, please," Scully said, trying to soften her words but not the urgency. "I need to speak with them."

"Very well, but you must sit back and relax while I go and get them. I'd rather not have to try and revive you again so soon, if it's all the same to you."

Scully did her best to assume a relaxed posture, until he had left the room. Once the door had closed, she immediately went about trying to locate her clothes. It was time to go home.

***

Skinner's eyes were beginning to glaze over as he tried to follow the update he was getting from the agent in front of him. The man had succeeded in talking for 30 minutes without saying anything. He could have hugged Kim when she knocked on the door.

"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's a phone call on line 1 for you. A Marshal Shannon."

Skinner tried not to show his surprise at the name. "Unfortunately, I do have to take that. You're dismissed, Agent. Have Kim set up another appointment for you so you can finish your report," he told the man, trying not to cringe at the idea of a second round of this, and waited for him to leave. Then he picked up the line. "Skinner."

"AD Skinner," a frustrated female voice said into the phone, "we have a bit of a situation forming out here."

***

Scully was pacing up and down her living room floor. After a long argument, she'd agreed to wait for word on Mulder before 'doing anything too rash', but she refused to do so in the hospital. If they didn't get a call in the next ten minutes....

The phone rang.

She was halfway to the phone before Mann picked it up. "Hello? Yes, sir, this is a secure line. Okay, she's right here." Mann walked over to Scully and silently handed her the phone.

"Hello?"

"Scully?" She knew it was Skinner before she'd taken the phone, but her heart sank all the same at the sound of her supervisor's voice.

"It's me, sir. Have you found anything?"

"Scully, we're still looking. You're going to have to give us some time."

Scully sank down onto the couch and took a deep breath. "You haven't been able to contact Mulder?" she demanded, already knowing the answer but needing the confirmation.

"No, but you know Agent Mulder. He's probably just out following a lead and - "

"I'm sure that's exactly what he's doing, but that doesn't make him in any less danger."

"Leave this to us, Scully."

"I did leave this to you and now Mulder is missing!" Scully snapped angrily, before she could stop herself. "I'm sorry, sir, I - "

Skinner sighed, cutting her off. "Scully, I truly am sorry about this, and we are doing everything within our power to - "

"I'm coming back."

Both marshals' heads jerked around towards her and Shannon stood up angrily. "Like hell you are," she whispered harshly, at the same moment as Skinner said, "That would be a very bad idea, Agent Scully."

"I'm coming back," she repeated, "with or without protection."

"I am ordering you to stay there, Agent Scully."

"With all due respect, sir, that is an order I cannot, and will not, follow. You are free to reprimand me for that if you wish."

Scully could practically see the vein in Skinner's head throb, as he tried to regain control over the situation. "Damn it, Scully! If you come back here they will have everything they want. They'll have no reason not to kill both you and Mulder!"

She shook her head, even though he couldn't see her. "I'm not going to let that happen, sir."

***

_"Mulder, I'm - "_

'Scully?' Mulder was dragged out of unconsciousness as he was thrown harshly to the ground. A door slammed shut before he could begin to process what was going on.

He forced himself to sit up, shaking his head to try and clear it of its drug induced haze. Glancing around, he determined that he was being held in the basement of a house, though he had no idea where since he hadn't been awake to judge travel time.

Agent Marcus had been thrown down on the floor next to him, but he appeared to still be out cold. They were both trussed up with their hands behind their backs and their legs bound.There wasn't anything in the way of furniture in the dingy basement, and the one window was too high up for him to reach on his own.

Barely resisting the temptation to pound his head against the floorboards, Mulder asked himself, 'What the hell am I going to do?'

***

Scully stared out the window of the airplane, seeing nothing of the vast sea of clouds. She had tried to sleep for awhile, hoping to regain that small connection with Mulder, but had not been able to shut her brain off enough to actually come anywhere close to slumber.

'Please be okay, Mulder,' she silently begged, as she waited for the plane's landing in Washington DC.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Scully tried to ignore the way her brown wig lay uncomfortably against her neck. She and Mann were walking through the airport, Shannon hanging back a little to make sure no one approached them. They headed toward long term parking where a car had been left for them.

"I would just like to state for the record what a bad plan this is," Mann said, while, despite his longer legs, he rushed to keep up with Scully's gait.

"Which part do you find bad?" Scully asked in dark amusement. "The part where we walk right into the Bureau or the part where we go to the people who are trying to kill me?"

"All of it. I liked Buena Valle. It was quiet, the house was secure, no one there was a murderer. I have to do very little in a place like that to keep you from getting killed." They reached the car, and Mann pulled the keys out of his pocket.

"You didn't have to come."

He took her carry-on from her and placed it in the trunk, before slamming it shut. "It's part of the warranty package."

"Can I have my gun back now?"

"Maybe when we're a little further from Airport Security."

***

"Agent Scully," Skinner greeted her, as the trio entered a remote, dusty room that seemed more deserted than the basement office ever had. He was standing by a large conference table that had boxes of files littered all over it. "It's good to see you again."

"Thank you, sir. I wish it wasn't under these circumstances. What have you found out?"

"Not a lot. So far we haven't been able to track a lot of Mulder's activities over the past couple weeks; he's been keeping mostly under the radar. We also haven't heard anything confirming that the Spilanos are the ones who have him."

"So, what do you know?" Shannon asked incredulously, clearly thinking that 'not a lot' was a bit of an understatement. Scully had to agree.

"We know that today was the first day that Mulder missed work, so he disappeared sometime in the last 14 hours."

He let that sink in before turning back to the table. "This is all the information I can give you on the case so far. Read through it and see if anything stands out to you." Skinner started to leave. "Mulder didn't go through the Bureau for this one, so if you can think of anywhere else he would have gotten his information..."

Skinner was barely out the door before Scully began dialing.

***

"Lone Gunmen."

"Turn off the tape."

The shock of hearing her voice almost caused Langly to drop the phone. "Scully?" His surprised question jerked the attention of the other two occupants of the room to him. Frohike gestured wildly for him to hand over the phone, but Langly ignored him. "Are you back? Is everything okay?"

"No. Mulder's gone missing." Scully paused before she continued, "I need you guys to give me all of the information you have, and I need it yesterday."

***

Mulder had only been able to accomplish two things in the time since he'd been tossed into the basement: he hadn't fallen asleep and he'd managed to get his arms from behind his back to in front of him. He'd been particularly proud of the latter. It was too bad they'd taken his pocket knife along with his guns, because there was nothing here that looked remotely like it could cut through his bindings.

Maybe he should get some sleep, after all...

Mulder felt his eyes sliding shut when he heard a groan to his right. Opening his eyes, he saw the curled up figure of Agent Marcus stir. "Good morning, sunshine."

The other agent groaned again, but wriggled his way into a sitting position. "Shit, Mulder. My head is killing me. What happened?" He took in his restrained limbs. "What the fuck?"

"Yeah, you really should warn people that mob kidnappings are part of your poker game before you invite them over."

"Mob... kidnapping?" Marcus shook his head. Apparently all the cobwebs were not yet completely cleared. All of a sudden, his eyes widened and he turned an alarming shade of purple. "That asshole! I'm going to kill Dell."

"As partners go, you sure did get a gem."

Marcus somehow managed to look enraged and crestfallen all at the same time. "I should have figured it out. How could I not know?"

Mulder attempted a reassuring smile. He was all too familiar with how you could put your trust in the wrong partner. "He had to be very good to not have been caught. There was no trace of him having any illegal dealings."

"But he was my partner! I was with him all the time. I should have at least suspected."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I thought you were the dirty fibbie."

He looked at Mulder incredulously. "Exactly how would that make me feel better?"

Mulder shrugged. "I have no idea. I didn't really get the etiquette training for this sort of situation growing up."

"Why would you think I - I don't want to know, do I?"

"Probably not."

They said nothing for a few minutes.

"Okay, seriously." Marcus finally broke down. "How on earth could you think that _I_ would have something to do with the mob? I was voted 'least likely to become a gangster' senior year."

"I know about Jeremy Miller."

Marcus did look slightly concerned at the mention of the name, but mostly he seemed more confused than he was before. "What does Jeremy have to do with anything?"

Mulder had the distinct impression that the Gunmen were about to make him look like an idiot. "He's been paying you off."

"He's been giving me money for the mortgage he left me with when he went and got himself a new boyfriend!" Marcus cried angrily, his face flushing with embarrassment.

Mulder tried not to look surprised. "His boyfriend wouldn't happen to be named Mark Engleside, would it?"

"I never knew his last name."

"Huh." Mulder considered the agent next to him. "Engleside seems like a step down; guy's old enough to be his father."

"Thank you?" Marcus said uncertainly, perhaps wondering if Mulder was being nice or hitting on him. "Anyway, I think it's more the old money Jeremy is interested in than the old man."

Mulder nodded. "So why did you keep apologizing about Scully?"

"You guys had been partners for a long time, and you'd both been helpful to me, I was just sorry to hear that she'd transferred."

"She hasn't - Who told you she transferred?"

"I just overheard... Dell talking about it." Marcus began banging his head on the wall behind him in frustration. "I was set up."

"It does sound like it."

Stopping short of giving himself a concussion, Marcus lifted his head. "Are they going to know to look for us?" The implied 'before it's too late' hung in the air.

"I don't know."

***

"Sir, what did they find at Agent Marcus's house?" Scully asked urgently the second Skinner walked into the door.

"There were a few neighbors who remember seeing Mulder go inside the house, but none of them recall seeing either Mulder or Marcus leave. One woman did see a dark green or gray Hummer pull out of the driveway, but she didn't recognize the driver. We got a partial license plate from her - we're running it now."

"Marcus still hasn't reported for work either?"

"No. His partner said he hasn't seen him since yesterday and the logs confirm it."

"Was Agent Dell able to tell you anything else?"

"He said Marcus wasn't behaving any differently the last few days."

Scully collapsed back into her chair, her right hand involuntarily resting on her abdomen. "Does all of this ring true to you, sir?"

"We have to investigate every lead we - "

"Sir, that's not what I meant. Do you think that Agent Marcus is the man inside on this?"

Skinner studied his agent for a good moment. "He wasn't on our original list of suspects."

Scully nodded, looking somewhat defeated. She opened her mouth to speak when Skinner's phone rang, cutting her off.

He looked at the screen before flipping the phone open. The number looked oddly familiar. "Skinner."

"AD Skinner, it's nice to finally speak with you."

"Who is this?" Skinner asked, pulling a nearby notepad and pen towards him. He scribbled out 'run a trace' on it, and Scully nodded. She was already beginning to call it in.

"That's of little consequence right now. All you need to know is that you are very close to losing two FBI agents unless Dana Scully comes out of whatever hole you've got her stashed away in."

"Even if I could get Agent Scully back here, why would I? If it's true that you've got two of my agents - "

"Oh, it's true, G-Man," the voice sneered.

Skinner continued as if he hadn't spoken. " - then why would I give you another one?"

"Because you can be responsible for two deaths or just one; it's your decision. I'll call back in an hour. If Agent Scully isn't at least en route to DC than I'm going to shoot one of your agents. And Walt? He's going to die slow."

Before Skinner could respond, the voice on the other line hung up. "Did they get anything?" Skinner demanded, putting all of his frustration into that one question.

"It wasn't long enough. The closest they were able to get was that it was bouncing off a cell tower in northern Virginia."

He pulled up his call log. "Does this number look familiar to you?"

Scully blanched slightly. "That's Mulder's cell phone."

***

Mulder estimated it to be sometime around noon when someone finally opened the door to the basement. A man, who looked far too much like a young Al Pacino to not be in charge, walked down the wooden steps followed by a couple of linebackers.

'Al' looked at both of them before gesturing in their direction. "Gag the other one, he doesn't need to make a sound."

***

Exactly one hour after the first phone call, Skinner's cell phone rang again. The task force he'd called together collectively quieted down. Skinner waited for the agent running the trace to indicate to pick up the phone before answering.

"Skinner."

"AD Skinner," the same voice stated calmly, "have you had time to consider my offer?"

Another agent, who specialized in hostage negotiations, held up a cue card that read 'stall'. Skinner nodded in response before saying, "I need a little more time. There are channels that I need to go through in order to - "

A gunshot rang out down the line, followed by a scream of anguish that caused everyone in the room's blood to run cold.

"Maybe now you'll take me seriously, Mr. Skinner. You've now got your extension. You have until this agent dies. You better hope he's resilient, because once he's gone, I'm shooting the other one."

The only sound in the room was the dial tone of Assistant Director Skinner's phone, which was hanging loosely in his hand.

***

"What happened?" Scully asked as soon as Skinner returned to the room she had been sequestered to, fear tainting her voice. She couldn't recall ever seeing Skinner looking so defeated.

"They shot one of them, Scully."

She hated herself for asking, and even more so for the tremor in her voice when she did. "Mulder? Is he - ?"

Skinner shook his head. "We don't know, Scully. It could be either of them." He watched her absorb that fact, and almost couldn't bring himself to say his next words when he saw the tears gather in her eyes. "Under normal circumstances I wouldn't ask this of you. We'll do everything we can to protect you, but I don't know... Are you willing to act as bait?"

The intensity of Scully's gaze as she met Skinner's somehow didn't startle him in the least. She didn't even hesitate. "Yes."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Jeff Marcus couldn't comprehend what had happened at first. He heard himself scream, then saw Mulder struggle against the goon holding him. He smelled and tasted the metallic tang of his own blood. His hand automatically came up to the gushing wound in his stomach, his legs collapsed under him and tears streamed down his face.

'Holy mother-fucking Christ! I've been shot,' some remote voice in the back of his head supplied helpfully. Another voice, which sounded remarkably like his mother, reminded him that that was no excuse for bad language.

Distantly, he was aware that the goons and their boss had left. He thought they'd said something, but everything felt like it was coming at him down a very long tunnel.

"Shit!" he heard Mulder exclaim, and then he felt a huge amount of pressure on his wound. White hot pain sliced through him, causing him to scream again. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Marcus, but I've got to put pressure on it. I know it hurts like a bitch."

"Guess you don't think I'm the double agent anymore, huh?" Marcus rasped, and laughed softly at the look on Mulder's face (he stopped laughing immediately when he found it hurt too much).

"Either that or you just got fired," Mulder tried to joke back.

"And here I always thought your paranoia was just an exaggeration."

"You should know by now, Agent Marcus, that all those Spooky Mulder rumors are a drastic underestimation."

"Yeah, well, live and learn."

***

Scully took a couple of cleansing breaths as the elevator climbed upward, her back ramrod straight against the elevator wall. She just wanted all of this to be over. Skinner stood just in front of her, but, thankfully, he was remaining as stoic as ever.

As the doors slid open and they walked down the corridor to Skinner's office, Scully felt as if all eyes were on her. She wanted to yell at them to stop, but instead she kept her head raised high and her eyes straight ahead.

When they got to his office, things did not improve. All movement from the task force agents stopped and they just stared at her. It was like a stupid dream from high school.

"What new information do we have?" Skinner's commanding voice cut through the silence, snapping everyone back to reality. All activity resumed, and a few agents stepped forward to give him updates.

Scully walked deeper into the office and was heading toward the evidence board when a hand touched her shoulder. Spinning around she came face to face with Agent Adam Dell.

"It's good to have you back, Agent Scully."

She couldn't pinpoint why, but the way he said it made her feel slightly uncomfortable. "Thank you. I'm sorry about Agent Marcus."

He nodded, sadness briefly crossing his features. "It's part of the job."

"Dell," Skinner said, walking over to them, "you're with me."

"Where are we going, sir?"

"To pick up Johnny Spilano."

***

Johnny Spilano looked around the interrogation room he'd been placed in twenty minutes ago. If they made him wait five more minutes he was going to lawyer up, even if the only shysters he knew worked for his dad.

He was about to start yelling at whoever was behind the two-way mirror when the door to the room finally opened. A tall bald man walked in, followed by a slightly shorter man with spiky blonde hair.

"Johnny Spilano? I'm Assistant Director Walter Skinner, and this is Special Agent Adam Dell. We have some questions for you."

"Anything to help the FBI," Johnny said cheekily. 'If they wanted me to be nicer they should have talked to me right away instead of making me stew,' he mentally grumbled to himself.

"I'm glad to hear that," Skinner said, ignoring Johnny's tone and taking a seat across from him. "What can you tell us about the whereabouts of Special Agents Mulder and Marcus?"

"What is this? A 'Where's Waldo' game?"

"This is not a joking matter, Mr. Spilano," Agent Dell reproved from where he was standing, leaning against the wall.

"Right." Johnny really hated cops - no sense of humor. "Look, I have no idea what you guys are talking about."

"Can you account for you whereabouts for last night and this morning?"

"Last night I was at my girlfriend's apartment, all night. This morning I was at the school library, studying like a good little boy." He was starting to resent this conversation. "Does this have something to do with my dad's case?"

"Do you know where your brother is currently?"

"Tony?" 'Oh God, baby brother better not be doing anything stupid.' "As far as I know he's at home. My mom's been pretty torn up recently." Johnny glared at the Feds, as if to say it was all their fault that his mother was upset.

Skinner pushed a cell phone towards him. "Would you mind calling him and verifying that?"

"I would, actually." Johnny pushed it back towards him.

"I thought you wanted to cooperate with our investigation, Mr. Spilano."

"Well, I've now decided you can take your investigation and shove it up your ass! Haven't you done enough to my family?"

"Do you think your father doesn't deserve to be punished, Johnny?"

Johnny felt himself hesitate and knew it had been too long not to be noticed. "My dad didn't do anything to anyone who didn't deserve it!" he replied vehemently, hoping it made up for his initial reaction. "He did a better job at keeping peace in our neighborhood than you Feds ever did."

"It's gotta make you angry then that he's been locked up." Johnny nodded, before realizing what he was doing and stopped abruptly. "Angry enough that you would want to do something about it?"

"No!" He burst out of his chair. "God, don't you feds do your research? I'm not a part of that world."

"Maybe not, but you still have the name. I bet you could get a lot of people to do your bidding on that alone."

"They don't respect the name, they respect power!"

"And who holds the power now? You're the oldest son."

"I never wanted it! I'm not the one he - "

Skinner nodded. "We need to know where your brother is, Johnny."

"I want to talk to my father."

***

Angelo Spillano looked as much a man in charge in his orange jumpsuit as he did in a 3-piece suit. Johnny looked like a little boy sitting across from him.

"What are you doing here, son?"

"The FBI brought me in today." Johnny surreptitiously glanced across the room, towards where both Skinner and Dell stood, and Angelo nodded in understanding. "They wanted to know about two missing agents."

No one else would have seen it, but Johnny saw the surprise in his father's eyes. "Do they think you have something to do with it?"

"I think they're more focused on Tony, but I'm sure they think I had a hand in it as well."

Johnny watched as his father went through his mental calculations. "Okay. I want you to answer all of their questions and then go back to school."

"Dad! What about Tony? He's family."

"And I'm your father. I'm telling you to go back to school. I'll deal with the situation with Tony. The boy never could listen."

"Dad..."

"Send the agents over here."

Johnny stared into his father's eyes, torn between listening to what he said and wanting to run to Tony. "Okay. Do you need anything?"

"No, son."

Johnny resignedly walked away. "He wants to talk to you," he said over his shoulder as he kept walking right out the door, forcing himself not to look back.

Skinner didn't speak, but took up the seat Johnny had just vacated, Dell standing behind him.

"I want some guarantees before I talk."

***

"Agent Dell, where are you going?" Skinner asked when he noticed that the agent was heading in the opposite direction of the car.

"I missed a call - I just have to return it really fast."

"Do it in the car!" he barked, looking at Dell like he was crazy. "We need to move on this new information."

Skinner missed the fearful look in Dell's eyes as he looked down at his phone and bit his lip, before climbing into the car.

***

Scully leaned her head against the bathroom stall as she waited to see if she was about to lose any more of her lunch. She'd been so grateful the dizzy spells had stopped, but they'd been quickly followed by morning sickness, so she had very little time to celebrate.

When she was sure the worst of the nausea had passed, she forced herself to her feet. Straightening her suit and flushing away the evidence of her illness, she left the stall. She was in the process of rinsing her mouth when the door opened.

Glancing up, Scully was relieved to see it was Kim. "Agent Scully, AD Skinner is back. He asked me to find you. I think they've got something."

Kim had to run to catch up with her.

***

Tony was finding it hard not to panic. They were surrounded by FBI agents. His contact hadn't been able to give him enough warning to get them out, and now they were trapped.

'No,' Tony told himself firmly. 'I can get out of this. I just have to be smart about this, just like Dad taught me. I have at least one hostage left, maybe two. They can get me out of this. And if not... well the red-headed bitch is here now. At the very least, I'll take her out at the same time.'

"Go get the two G-men," he ordered. "I think they should be here for this party."

***

"AD Skinner. You didn't wait for an invitation before visiting my humble abode. That's not very polite. I thought they raised fibbies better than that."

Skinner almost admired that Tony Spilano still sounded like he was in charge of the situation. "At the moment, we are waiting for your invitation to come inside, but I don't know how long that will last."

"It will last as long as you want your two agents to survive. Any attempt to come in here and their brains will be my new wallpaper." Tony's voice had raised steadily throughout his threat, until Skinner was tempted to pull the phone away from his ear. "You don't want that do you, Walt?"

"No, I don't. So I am going to need proof that they're still alive before we go any further."

There was a rustle, and then nothing for a couple of seconds before, "Hey, Skinman. Nice of you to come by."

Skinner had never been so pleased to hear Mulder's sarcastic tone in his life. From close by, he heard Scully strangle a sob, so he knew she was listening as well.

"Mulder, this is not what I meant when I told you to let us handle things."

"You have no idea how much I wish I'd followed your orders."

"I knew you'd see the light eventually. Is Agent Marcus okay?"

"He needs a doctor. Soon."

"Okay. Is there anything else you can tell me?"

He heard the click of a safety being turned off over the line. "No, sir."

"All right, Mulder. Don't do anything stupid."

"I've been hearing that a lot lately. Sir?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't let _anyone else_ do something stupid."

Skinner glanced in Scully's direction. 'Message received, Mulder.'

"Okay, that's enough," Tony's voice broke in as he took back the phone. "There's your proof."

"Thank you, Tony," Skinner said, slipping back into hostage negotiation mode. "It's good for you that they're both still alive. I can help you more if they stay that way. Tony, we need to get Agent Marcus out of there. He needs a doctor."

There was a long pause. "Okay, Walt, I'll tell you what. I'll let you get your boy here out, but I want something in return."

"What?"

"If you want Agent Marcus, I'll trade him... for Agent Scully."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"This is a horrible plan!" Skinner shouted, startling half the agents gathered around him.

Scully, however, stood firm. "It's the only plan that makes sense, sir. Agent Marcus is dying in there and we have to get him out. We have to assume that any attempt to storm the house will result in Spilano killing both Mulder and Marcus."

"And how do we know that he won't just shoot you the second you're inside, and then just shoot Marcus and Mulder for the hell of it? We gain nothing by giving him exactly what he wants."

"We gain a chance to get everyone out of this alive, and the odds are greater for this plan to succeed than any other."

Everyone looked back and forth between Skinner and Scully.

"Sir," Agent Dell said, breaking the staring contest between the two. "Agent Scully's plan makes sense. Spilano is going to get more violent if we don't give him something, and the only thing he's asked for is Scully. And, sir, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not have to break in a new partner."

Scully silently sent a 'thank you' glance at Dell, before returning her gaze to Skinner.

"I still think this plan has disaster written all over it," Skinner sighed in resignation. "Okay, Agents, who wants to volunteer to go in with Scully and the EMT?"

Not surprisingly, several hands were raised, and first among them was Dell.

_***_

"So, how much do you think your girlfriend values your life?" Tony Spilano asked conversationally.

Mulder's facial expression didn't change, but his jaw clenched, so his words came out harsher than he intended. "Excuse me?"

Tony was sitting in a big arm chair, his feet kicked up on the coffee table in front of him, looking for all the world like a prince sitting on his dad's throne.

"Do you think the little woman is going to risk her life just to save you?"

Mulder was tempted to bare his teeth at him. "You're an idiot if you think they're going to give you anything."

"I'll take that as a 'no' then." Glancing down at Marcus's unconscious form, the only sign he was still alive his shallow breathing, Tony sneered. "You better hope you're wrong."

The phone rang. Tony waited until it almost went to voicemail to pick it up.

'This kid is going to get us all killed,' Mulder thought bitterly, as he listened to Tony trying to sound as though he knew what he was doing.

"Looks like you were," Tony said with a smug smile. "Too bad she's not going to be alive long enough for you to appreciate that fact."

Mulder opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off.

"Put the gag back on him."

"You really should get over this kink of yours," Mulder grumbled, as the muscle forced the cloth back into his mouth.

_***_

Bobby Smith hadn't been nervous on the jobs since his first month. Being an EMT involved a lot of adrenaline and a lot of quick thinking. There wasn't any time to be nervous, and you either got over it or you 'flunked out', which was not something Bobby had been prepared to do.

However, as he stood outside in the cooling Virginia spring air, watching FBI agents mill around him, he felt anxiety settle in his chest.

The agent who was going undercover as his partner came over to him and slapped him on the back.

"Relax, kid, you've got the easy job."

_***_

Scully sat by herself, eyes closed against the chaos around her. Resting a hand against her abdomen she felt tears gather in her eyes.

"It'll be okay," she whispered. "I promise."

She desperately hoped that this had not been the first lie she would ever tell her child.

_***_

They approached the house slowly. Dell went first, controlling one end of the stretcher, followed by Smith at the other end. Scully walked closely behind to insure that she wasn't pulled in without the exchange taking place.

When they reached the front door it swung open, revealing two very well-muscled men standing behind it. Both were holding guns, and looked prepared to use them.

All three walked inside and, after the door was closed behind them, were immediately searched. Scully tried to ignore that the man patting her down took extra time between her legs, but she couldn't completely help the way she tensed up.

"They're clean," one of the men announced, and they were herded into the next room.

The room was very sparsely furnished. There was an armchair that looked like it belonged in a much grander house, a coffee table that was most likely purchased at IKEA, and a boarded up fireplace.

Standing near the fireplace was a bound and gagged Mulder being held in place by Tony Spilano's grip on his collar and his gun in his side.

Scully involuntarily started forward, but Mulder imperceptibly shook his head, halting her movements.

Over in the corner of the room lay Marcus's body, which Dell and Smith went to as quickly as possible. Smith set to work checking his vitals, and making sure they could move him without doing further damage. Dell set about trying to look productive.

Mulder's eyes widened in shock when he realized who Dell was and he began to struggle, until Spilano dug the gun further into his side. His eyes continued to dart over to Dell, hoping Scully would receive the message.

"I'm glad you finally decided to join us, Agent Scully," Spilano said smoothly. "It was very rude, you disappearing like that, without leaving a forwarding address."

"Well, you've got me here now. What's next?"

Tony's eyes hardened at her cavalier words. "Jimmy," he said to one of the thugs, "come here." The bodyguard he addressed approached him. Tony shoved Mulder in his direction, freeing himself up to walk towards Scully.

Scully stood firm with each step he took towards her, even as she felt the presence of the other guard right behind her.

"Now?" Tony asked in a harsh voice. "Now you're going to pay for everything you've done to my family. You're going to cry for every tear my mother has shed. You're going to watch everything get taken away from you, just like my father did!"

"Do the victims of your family get the same deal?"

"The only people we ever hurt were people who deserved to be punished!" he shouted, unknowingly echoing his brother's words.

"What about what you've done to your own father?" Scully asked, seeking to get him off-balance. "Do you think anyone is going to believe that he didn't have a part in this? You've ruined any chance he might have had of not being found guilty."

"Shut up!" Tony yelled, raising his gun to her head.

Mulder's eyes pleaded, 'Scully, don't make him kill you,' but Scully knew she had to keep pressing.

"How do you think he's going to react to this, Tony? How many more tears is your mother going to shed when you're sharing the cell next to your father? Or when she has to watch you get the lethal injection?"

"Don't you dare bring my mother into this!"

"You brought her into this! But you can save her some of that pain... put the gun down," she softened her tone, as if talking to a little boy. "Just put down the gun and walk away. That's your best chance."

Tony appeared to be considering it for all of ten seconds, before a surprised look crossed his face. "You manipulative bitch!"

But it had given her enough time. Scully took advantage of his distraction and brought her arm down hard on his outstretched one, causing him to drop the gun. She caught it and quickly brought it down on his head, knocking him out.

She saw out of the corner of her eye Mulder ram his bound hands into Jimmy's gut, knocking the wind out of him.

Swinging around, she shot one round into the shoulder of the other guard as he was lifting his weapon. He yelled out in pain and dropped his gun. Kicking the gun away from him, Scully quickly checked that Mulder didn't need her, and then saw that Jimmy was now lying unconscious.

Keeping her weapon trained on the only alert mobster, she called over to Agent Dell, "I need the handcuffs from the medical bag."

When he didn't respond, she glanced in his direction and noticed that he wasn't paying attention to her. Instead, he was staring fixedly at Mulder, who was holding a gun in his still bound hands, trained directly on him.

"Mulder?" she asked in alarm. "What are you doing?"

Gag now hanging around his neck Mulder spoke for the first time. "He's with them, Scully."

She saw the mobster in front of her try to inch towards his gun, and swung back around. He stopped, apparently not wanting to get shot again.

"Dell?"

"Yeah. He's why we're all in this mess."

Not knowing quite how to process that, but not doubting its validity, Scully nodded. "All right. Smith! Bring me the damn medical bag."

Smith, who looked like he was seconds away from peeing his pants, nodded and with shaking hands began to walk towards Scully with the bag. There was a brief second when he crossed between Mulder and Dell, which gave Dell the exact opportunity he needed. He lunged toward the gurney and pulled out a hidden gun, pointing it directly at Mulder.

'God damn it!' Scully silently cursed, pulling the scared EMT towards her and out of the line of fire. Pulling out the cuffs at last, she quickly restrained the mobster before also turning her gun on Dell.

"Dell, there's no way you can get out of this. You're surrounded by agents, and you have no help."

To her right she heard a gun being cocked.

"Put the fucking gun down," Tony Spilano rasped.

_***_

From outside a gunshot rang out.

Skinner's booming voice resounded over the microphone. "All teams go!"

_***_

The four of them remained in a standoff: Spilano with a gun pointed at Scully, Scully's trained on Dell, Dell's still directed at Mulder, and Mulder's now lined up with Spilano.

None of them moved for a good long while.

"You know, I went to see your father today," Dell said into the silence.

Tony looked confused. "Shut the fuck up, Adam! What the hell took you so long to jump in?"

"I was waiting for the right moment."

"The right moment was when the bitch got the drop on me!"

"My bad."

"Both of you shut up," Mulder ordered. "There are going to be FBI agents flooding this house any minute now. Put the guns down."

"Don't you want to know what he said?" Dell asked, as if Mulder had never spoken.

"Fine! You want to do this now? What did he say?"

"He said he's very disappointed in you." Dell quickly swung his gun around and fired.

Tony Spilano dropped to the floor. He was dead instantly.

Special Agent Adam Dell let his gun drop to the floor and kicked it towards Scully. She bent to pick it up.

Mulder walked over to him, and taking another pair of cuffs out of the medical bag, began reading him his rights. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say..."

Dell was only half listening. He looked down at his unconscious partner, who was getting paler by the second.

When Mulder had finished, Dell simply looked back and forth between Mulder and Scully, no remorse evident in his eyes.

"Don't you want to get my partner to a hospital?" he asked, just as the rest of the team came pouring into the house, taking in the bloody scene.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Skinner took another look around at the surviving members of the Spilano incident. Agent Marcus had already been taken away by an ambulance, and now both of Spilano's accomplices were being loaded into the second one, surrounded by a legion of FBI agents.

Meanwhile, Agent Dell was being escorted roughly to a squad car. Honestly, Skinner reflected, he would be surprised if the man didn't arrive to the lock-up in worse condition than he was in now leaving the crime scene.

As Dell was walked past where Mulder was getting looked over by an EMT to make sure he didn't also need to be taken to a hospital, Skinner briefly thought he was going to have to break up a fist fight. He was sure that the only reason one didn't break out was that, at that moment, Scully extracted herself from her farewells with the marshals to walk over and begin giving directions to the EMT. This effectively and thoroughly distracted Mulder.

Mulder was being poked, prodded, and had a penlight flashing in his eyes, and yet he was the most relaxed Skinner had seen him in the last couple weeks.

As Skinner approached the partners, he hear Mulder putting up a token protest. "Scully, I don't need a hospital. I just want to go home."

"Mulder, you have a baseball-sized knot on the side of your head."

"I knew I never should have taught you how to play baseball." Scully raised an eyebrow at him and a grin spread across Mulder's face. "Okay, so that might not be completely truthful."

"Uh huh."

"Scully, I got the bump when they tossed my unconscious body around. It's been more than 24 hours and I've shown no signs of a concussion. Smith here'll back me up, won't you?"

Bobby Smith looked back and forth between the pair, clearly afraid of taking a side.

'Poor kid's been in enough stand-offs today,' Skinner thought wryly.

He was about to step in, when Scully conceded. "Fine, but if at any time I decide you belong in a hospital I reserve the right to drag you to one."

"You think you could take me, G-woman?" Mulder leered at her, either forgetting that there were others around or simply not caring.

"I think we both know I can," she replied, in a way that made Skinner feel like a voyeur and Smith look like he didn't know whether to run or rejoice that he didn't have to pay for this kind of entertainment.

"Agents," Skinner said, finally making his presence known, "how are you two holding up?"

Mulder opened his mouth, most likely with a ready-made quip, but Scully cut him off. "We're fine, sir."

"Good. I will need both of you to come back to the Hoover building to give your official statements - "

"Sir!" Mulder immediately interjected. "Can't that wait until tomorrow?"

Skinner shot him a glare that he knew Mulder was pretty much immune to at this point. "As I was saying, I need both of you to come in and give your statements, but then I don't want to see you in the office until Monday."

Skinner watched as they had an entire conversation without words. Scully titled her head at Mulder, who barely suppressed the smirk that was threatening the corner of his mouth.

Not waiting for them to respond, he turned to Smith. "Are they cleared to leave?"

"They can go." Smith handed a bottle of water to Mulder. "Drink all of that."

"Do I need to refill this prescription?"

"Let's go!" Skinner ordered, already walking to his fleet sedan.

***

"So his gun was actually trained on you, Agent Mulder? There's was no indication that Spilano was his real target?"

Mulder had answered the same question three times now and was getting fairly tired of it. SAC Dixon seemed particularly incredulous about his series of events - which Mulder found ironic, since this case was one of the most straightforward he'd worked on since he left VCS.

"No, sir, his message right before he fired was the only indication."

"Right, that..." Dixon looked at his notes, "his father was 'very disappointed in him'?"

"Right. May I ask why you keep asking me this?"

"Agent Mulder," Skinner intervened, "the only reason we're asking is that I was with Agent Dell the entire time we were interviewing Angelo Spilano. He never said anything about his son other than he wanted us to take the death sentence off the table if he told us how to find him."

Dixon leaned forward intently. "Is it possible he could have said something else and you misunderstood?"

"No."

Dixon and Skinner exchanged a look before Skinner nodded. "All right, Agent Mulder, you're dismissed. Send Agent Scully in."

***

Scully walked out of Skinner's office 25 minutes later and found Mulder, head resting on the back of the couch he was sitting on and eyes shut, resting. Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, that was something he hadn't done a lot of recently.

She stood there watching him for a moment, tempted to just let him rest. But at any moment now, Skinner and who knew who else would come out of the office, and she knew he wouldn't want anyone else to see him.

"You just going to stare at me all night, Scully, or were we going to get out of here at some point?" Mulder asked, eyes still closed.

"I hadn't really decided yet," she said softly, walking over to stand in front of him.

When she reached him, Mulder squinted up at her. "Hey."

"Hey." A peaceful silence settle between them. "Oh," he said, suddenly remembering, "I have something for you."

Scully immediately adopted her skeptical look. "What?"

Reaching under his collar, he used his thumb to hold up her cross. Scully gazed at it, unable to say anything. Mulder unhooked the clasp, stood up, stepped around her, and brushed her hair to the side, returning her necklace to its rightful place.

"Mulder, I want to go home."

***

Mulder knew that Scully had yet to fall asleep. Her breathing was even enough that she probably would have fooled anyone else, but as he lay wrapped around her in her bed, Mulder could practically hear her thoughts.

"Scully," he whispered, brushing away a strand of hair that had fallen across her forehead. "It's not a dream anymore. You're really home."

"Those dreams kept me sane."

"Me too. Even if they did tend to end at inopportune moments."

She turned in his arms and looked up at him. "That was unfortunate. We already made up for that once tonight." Then she paused, looking thoughtful. "How many times did we have those dreams?"

Her lips brushed against his with each word she spoke and he had to force himself to respond verbally. "At least a dozen."

"Well, I guess we have some catch up work to do."

"I guess we do."

They could sleep later.

***

"Thank you so much, Dr. Speake. Next Thursday is fine. I really do appreciate you squeezing me in. Right. You too."

Scully set down the phone in its cradle and turned, almost running into Mulder. "Mulder! You scared me."

"I thought you got checked out last night and everything was fine."

"I did and everything is."

"Than why are you making a doctor's appointment?"

Of all the ways she'd planned to tell Mulder, this was probably the furthest down on the list - but the terrified expression on his face convinced her that she couldn't put it off.

"Mulder, Mary Speake is a doctor that I went to medical school with. We didn't take a lot of classes together because she was studying to be an OB/GYN, but I trust her."

"I don't understand."

Scully took his right hand in hers, drawing strength from him and trying to give him some reassurance. "Mulder, when I was in witness protection, I started experiencing dizzy spells, and I ended up in the hospital at one point."

He opened his mouth to speak but she continued on. "While I was there the doctor gave me some surprising news." Drawing in a fortifying breath she blurted out, "Mulder, I'm pregnant."

Mulder blinked at her several times. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You want to take a minute?"

Mulder walked over to her couch and collapsed onto it.

"I'm going to go get you some water."

Scully took her time in the kitchen, trying to give Mulder as much time to collect himself as possible. When she walked back into the living room, he hadn't moved, so she simply set the glass on a coaster on the coffee table in front of him, and waited.

"Pregnant?" Mulder asked, as if it was a new vocabulary word he was learning for the first time.

"Yes."

"How?"

She decided to try to keep things light. "Well, when a man and woman decide they love each other, they wait seven years and then - "

That seemed to snap Mulder out of his daze. "But Scully, the in vitro didn't work!"

Mulder's reaction was now starting to worry Scully; it seemed to go beyond simple shock. "Mulder," she started cautiously, attempting to keep her voice steady, "if you don't want - "

He looked honestly bewildered. "Not want? Not want our ba-? Scully, we got our miracle! How can you even..."

Mulder seemed to be unable to finish his sentences, but Scully got the gist of it nonetheless, and felt tears gather in her eyes. She didn't know if it was her tears or if his brain had resumed normal speed, but Mulder reached for her then, tucking her head under his chin as she curled into his embrace.

"We're going to be parents, Scully."

She felt his smile, her own spreading across her face in answer.

"Yeah. Yeah, we are."

***

"Hello?"

Skinner was surprised that he wasn't surprised when a decidedly male voice answered the phone. "Agent Mulder, do I want to know why you're answering Agent Scully's phone?"

"Probably not, sir." There was no apology in his voice.

Skinner could feel a headache already starting to form. "Fine. I was actually looking for both of you anyway. Dell is willing to talk, but he'll only talk to the two of you."

"Sir, I don't think..." Skinner heard the muffled sounds of a conversation taking place on the other side of the phone. The only words he could clearly make out were a loud protestation from Scully that she was 'not an invalid'. Mulder returned to the line. "We'll be there as soon as possible."

***

Adam Dell was led into the interrogation room, his cuffs clinking as he moved. He appeared perfectly calm and in control.

Scully stood near the back of the room, arms crossed across her chest. She watched as Mulder leaned back in the chair across from Dell, affecting a cavalier attitude.

"Thanks for coming."

Mulder shrugged. "We were told you were being a tad anti-social."

"How are you doing, Agent Scully?"

"Much better now that I don't have a price on my head. Now, why don't you stop wasting our time and tell us why we're here." The self-assured look on Dell's face made it far too easy to play 'bad cop'.

"Well, since you asked so nicely..."

"You asked to talk to us," Mulder reminded him.

"Yeah, I did." He considered the two of them for a moment and then continued. "Angelo Spilano didn't order the hit on you. You have to make sure it doesn't get added to the charges against him."

"You want us to believe that Spilano wasn't orchestrating the whole thing from inside a jail cell?"

"It was all Tony. I didn't know that though until it was too late."

Mulder shook his head. "Well, it's not like we can ask Tony Spilano for his side of the story, is it?"

Dell leaned forward angrily. "That little runt needed to be taught some respect."

"Respect?" Scully asked in disbelief, walking forward and leaning across the interrogation table. "You killed a man in cold blood, Dell."

"He deserved it."

"I am so sick of hearing you guys talk about what other people 'deserve'! What gives you the right to decide what anyone deserves?"

Dell stared up into Scully's eyes, trying to get his temper back under control. "You have no idea what that neighborhood was like before the Spilanos took over, Scully. Kids getting shot, homes getting broken into-- you never felt safe. The Spilanos created more stability in my neighborhood than the cops ever had!"

"And if a few innocent people have to die in order to keep that peace, so be it?" Mulder asked.

"Sacrifices are sometimes necessary."

"That's an easy position to take when you're not the one making the sacrifices."

Dell held up his handcuffed hands. "Does it look like I'm not making sacrifices, Agent Mulder? I knew as soon as I let you and Jeff live that I would end up here, but I didn't kill you because Spilano didn't want it."

"Then why were you willing to do it in the first place?"

"Tony led me to believe that he was merely acting out his father's wishes; I had no idea he'd gone rogue."

"And when his father found out, he got angry."

"Of course. Who wouldn't?"

"So, he asked you to take care of it for him?"

"He trusts me," Dell replied smugly.

"That'll come in handy for both of you. There are so few people you can trust in prison."

***

"You just going to sleep all day?" was the first thing Jeff Marcus heard when he woke in his hospital bed.

He struggled briefly to open his eyes and then wished he hadn't as sunlight seared his retinas. Next he felt the all-consuming pain in his abdomen, and wondered how he could have not noticed it before. Just as he was about to scream out in pain, a delicate hand placed a button into his own, which he pushed repeatedly. The pain began to dull.

Eventually, he was able to concentrate on his surroundings, and saw the two faces of Mulder and Scully looking down at him. Marcus tried to sit up, but Scully placed a hand on his shoulder keeping him in place. He winced, as his movement jostled his wound again.

"First gunshot wound?" Mulder asked sympathetically. Turning to Scully, his face took on a faux-reminiscent look. "Ah, I remember my first gunshot wound. It feels like yesterday."

"That's because the last time you were shot was a few months ago," she responded before turning back to Marcus. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, I'm apparently not as experienced with it as Agent Mulder is, but it feels like I've been shot."

"Do you want me to get your doctor? Is the pain medication not working?"

Marcus shook his head. "No, I'll be okay."

"You better be!" Mulder put in. "You owe me a rematch on the poker game."

Marcus smiled, his eyes starting to feel heavy again. "You're on."

"We'll let you get some rest," Scully told him, "but we'll come back later to check on you."

"Okay." The word was barely out of his mouth before he'd fallen back to sleep.

***

As they walked down the corridor of the hospital, away from Agent Marcus's room, Scully caught Mulder's hand and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

"Does it make me a horrible person that I'm so glad that wasn't you?" Scully asked, Marcus's pale visage swimming behind her eyes.

"No, it makes you human."

She tipped her head back, staring up at his face and seeing all of his caring and concern written there. "Let's get out of here, Mulder."

"Scully, I don't know if I mentioned this, but I'm really glad you're back."

"Me too, Mulder."


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"Miss Laura!"

Scully had barely turned around before she was engulfed by Emma in a flying hug-tackle. Mulder stood awkwardly next to the pair, not quite knowing what to do.

"Hi, sweetie, but I told you it's Dana."

"Oh, right, you were playing pretend." For the first time she seemed to notice Mulder. "Are you Miss La- Dana's husband?"

Mulder and Scully exchanged a look. "Uh, not exactly."

Confused, Emma's face held the universal 'adults are weird' expression that kids learn before they even learn to speak.

"Where were you heading, sweetie?" Scully asked, quickly changing the subject.

"To see Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Mrs. Evans said I could help her bake cookies." She glanced around and leaned in to whisper. "Mom and I aren't allowed to make cookies at the church, but Mom said when we move into our own house we can."

Brushing Emma's hair back behind her shoulders, Scully merely nodded.

Switching emotions just as quickly as before, Emma's face lit up. "You should come and bake cookies with us!"

"It would be nice to see the Evanses." Scully looked back at Mulder to check if he was okay with this change of plans, to which he shrugged his acceptance.

"I'll go tell them you're coming!" Emma yelled, running off.

Mulder glanced around the little town as they walked in the direction Emma had just run. "This seems like a nice place."

"You'd be bored within a month."

He studied her intently. "You wouldn't be. It doesn't look like a bad place to 'stop and get out of the damn car'."

Scully started upon hearing the words that had haunted her the entire time she'd been here the first time. "Come on, Mulder. This isn't such a bad place to disappear to for a few days, but I wouldn't want to live here."

A grin split across his face. Without saying anything, he grasped her hand as they continued walking.

**The End**


End file.
